To an external observer it would appear that the consensus about the way software should be developed changes dramatically every second or third year, more frequently than the whims of fashion. Trends seem to come and go with no rhyme or reason, and it seems that the label you adopt is more important than the results that you get or the things that you actually do.

Are we working in engineering or in a fashion industry?

Have you ever taken the time to investigate a new method or practice only to find that it is just the re-branding and re-gurgitation of ideas that you have seen many times before? Read More

Traditionally many large software organizations have one group to write requirements, other groups design and code, and still others to test, etc. Thus, every group has some form of specialist competency.  This is a kind of “siloed” organization. Project work is moved from group to group, with hand-offs between groups that result in  delay and inefficiency due to loss of time and important information at each hand-off.   This is not agile. Read More